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Did the ALA pick the best 4 children’s books about disabilities this year?

by Beth

emmanuel's dream book cover of boywith 1 leg riding bikeFour children’s books about disabilities have been honored this month by the American Library Association (ALA) as “outstanding books that portray emotional, mental, or physical disability experiences.” The four books awarded with a 2016 Schneider Family Award are:

  1. Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Sean Qualls and Laurie Thompson. Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah’s true story was also turned into a film called Emmanuel’s Gift, which was narrated by Oprah Winfrey.
  2. Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. This book by the author of One for the Murphys teaches readers that “everybody is smart in different ways.”
  3. The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. A story set during World War II about a nine-year-old named Ada who has never left her one-room apartment.
  4. The Unlikely Hero of Room 13Bby Teresa Toten. A novel for young adults about teens dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder, this book also won the Governor General’s Award in Canada.

fish-in-a-tree-book-2016Schneider Family Book Awards are given out on an annual basis to books that best portray some aspect of living with a disability (or that of a friend or family member). The disability in the winning story can be a physical, mental or emotional one, as long as the book emphasizes the artistic expression of the disability experience for children and/or adolescent audiences.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!


 

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